UNITED NATIONS (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Th United Nations has announced that the second round of discussions on the return of arms inspectors to Baghdad between the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi foreign minister, Naji Sabri will resume April 18-19.
Annan hopes the Iraqis, led by Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, would give a positive answer to the U.N. Security Council's demand that the weapons inspectors resume their work, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said.
The last meeting was on March 7 when the Iraq delegation handed Annan a list of 20 questions he has now given to the Security Council that more or less queried how Iraq could comply amid U.S. threats to topple President Saddam Hussein.
Iraq's questions to Annan ranged from asking whether U.S. threats against the Iraqi government were a breach of international law to whether U.S. "spies" would serve on inspection teams.
Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, told council members it could take his teams less than a year to certify Iraq is not pursuing weapons programs -- providing progress was made in fulfilling key disarmament tasks.
U.S. and British officials have already expressed anger at the queries and are expected to argue against answering them except for responses from Blix himself on technical aspects of the inspections. The issue may further split the Security Council on the issue of Iraq.
The U.N. weapons inspectors left on the eve of a U.S.-British air strike in December 1998, meant to punish Baghdad for not cooperating with the arms experts.
They have been barred from returning since to check if Iraq has any weapons of mass destruction programs, key to lifting U.N. sanctions imposed shortly after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
Some diplomats said it was doubtful Sabri next month would give a "yes" or "no" answer on the question of inspectors. Instead he may send any replies to his queries back to Baghdad for analysis, they said.
The meeting at the United Nations will take place after the Arab summit in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday and Thursday. One delegate said Iraq wanted Arab leaders to call for the lifting of U.N. sanctions and in return, Baghdad would state its willingness to readmit the arms inspectors.

PHOTO CAPTION:
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan plans to meet an Iraqi delegation April 18-19 to discuss the return of arms inspectors for the second time this year, a U.N. spokesman announced March 25, 2002. Annan hopes the Iraqis will give a positive answer to the U.N. Security Council's demand that the weapons inspectors resume their work. Annan is seen at the UN Development Financing Conference in Monterrey, Mexico March 19. (Daniel Leclair/Reuters)